There is a bizarre rumor floating around financial circles that Apple Computer may be interested in buying Barnes and Noble. Actually this may not be quite as farfetched as it sounds at first hearing. Check out the story on Investor Place. The cost of acquiring BN is estimated at between $1 and $1.5 billion. This is pocket change for Apple. They are sitting on $76 billion in cash. In purchasing BN, Apple would have access to the huge selection of BN electronic books and Nook customers and enhance the Apple iBookstore that is struggling against mighty Amazon. Additionally Apple could use many of BN’s 800+ physical bookstores as locations for their own Apple retail stores. And, not insignificantly, Barnes and Noble is the largest owner of university book stores in America. Control of this would be very valuable to Apple for whom the college market is important.
What this means for us book lovers down here on the ground is hard to say. As a general rule I always think that any development likely to erode Amazon’s almost monopoly power over e-books is a good thing. Stay tuned for more information.
Tags: amazon, apple, ask the agent, barnes and noble, ebooks, ibookstore, investor place
Ask the Agent 
August 2, 2011 at 7:01 am |
Wow! This is an interesting development. I’m very curious about what will happen. Thanks for the read, very nice!
August 2, 2011 at 7:42 am |
Andy,
I’m disappointed:
“What this means for us book lovers down here on the ground is hard to say.”
What I most enjoy about reading your work, is your insight and perspective. By simply repeating a rapidly aging rumor you added no value, and left me wishing that either you’d skipped writing this post, of that I had skipped reading it.
Paul
August 7, 2011 at 8:16 am |
And yet Apple just demanded that B&N remove the on-line Store functionality from all nook-for-Mac apps. But here’s another concern about the Apple/B&N rumor: Why not buy Walden instead? Walden Books already has over 400 retail properties in liquidation, a bargain compared to the 700 (non liquidation) B&N stores.
August 15, 2011 at 4:59 pm |
Because Borders has no e-reader.